Quarter-Year Check-In

ItΓÇÖs that time of year again when I exclaim ΓÇ£this year is whizzing by!ΓÇ¥ and dig out my one-pager to check on my progress. So how is 2023 going for me?

Getting REAL rest

The very first item I wrote on my one-pager was a simple question: ΓÇ£When IΓÇÖm resting, am I REALLY resting?ΓÇ¥ ItΓÇÖs easy to fool myself into thinking that staring at my phone hopping between YouTube, Twitter & Reddit is a restful activity. Going by how I feel now ΓÇö and how IΓÇÖve been feeling recently ΓÇö I feel I have been getting more (and better) rest but have also been expending more energy. IΓÇÖve been feeling quite exhausted lately (more on that later) but it seems that improving my rest has translated into more energy which I spend almost immediately.

What have I been doing different? I started replacing 1 hour of active phone use in the evening with something else: stretching, meditation, tai chi, qi gong, listening to music or a combination of thereof. Admittedly, itΓÇÖs fallen off but IΓÇÖll start it up again because I really enjoyed it.

In line with taking a 15ΓÇô30 minute afternoon nap, I also started doing Non-Sleep Deep Rest (NSDR) sometimes known as (or very similar to) Yoga Nidra. It reminds me of a guided body scan and IΓÇÖve been experimenting with YouTube videos ranging from 10 to 15 minutes. IΓÇÖm liking the results so far and I think this has mad the most change to my rest and energy levels.

That said, IΓÇÖve been experiencing a deep, pervasive feeling of exhaustion since December that comes-and-goes. It showed up again at the start of March deciding to hang around longer this time and I can still feel it on my shoulders. Some of my friends have been feeling the same way and I think itΓÇÖs latent fatigue from having to deal with the global pandemic. I also had to handle some very heavy family issues before and through the pandemic so I feel doubly tired. Still, I am very functional and credit it to focusing on getting REAL rest.

The Project

In my 2022 year-end reflection I mentioned The Project, something important to me that I began pursuing again at the start of last year. ItΓÇÖs been going very well, really well. ItΓÇÖs been going so well that part of me is scared, or perhaps nervous. How can things be going this well? I donΓÇÖt want to over-analyze, IΓÇÖll just enjoy it while keeping my nose to the grindstone.

Editing The Script

I also mentioned in my 2022 reflection that things werenΓÇÖt looking good for the script I was writing, that I wasnΓÇÖt going to be able to produce a first draft by the yearΓÇÖs end. Well IΓÇÖm happy to report I completed the first draft on 30th December! The plan was to then set it aside for a month before picking it up again to edit. That didnΓÇÖt happen. IΓÇÖm not sure if IΓÇÖm avoiding it or if the time just isnΓÇÖt right yet.

2023ΓÇÖs theme is Triangulate

ΓÇ£TriangulateΓÇ¥ was meant to convey a sense of deciding upon a direction or course of action by taking into account different parts of my life. It really is like triangulation in real life ΓÇö using 3 or more points in order to determine a specific location. I really donΓÇÖt know if IΓÇÖve been doing this at all. It sounded good in my head but IΓÇÖm finding it a bit fiddley to put into practice.

The way forward

This will be my focus:

  1. Continue with the NSDR practice on top of (or in place of) afternoon naps.
  2. Re-visit substituting 1 hour of active phone use in the evening. Doing stretches will be my preferred go-to.
  3. Take a look at The Script again. No pressure on editing, just read it a bit to get a feel for if itΓÇÖs time to start editing.
  4. Hold ΓÇ£TriangulateΓÇ¥ loosely. I still donΓÇÖt quite get it but maybe it will become clearer with time.